The officers of the
Asiatic Department came to think the strength of the
movement could not by any means be broken so long as
certain leaders were at large. So they arrested some of
us. The community had resolved to fill up the jail after
our arrests. We had been in jail for a fortnight, when
fresh arrivals brought the news that there were going on
some negotiations about a compromise with the
Government. The substance of the proposed settlement was
that the Indians should register voluntarily and that if
the majority of the Indians underwent voluntary
registration, Government should repeal the Black Act, as
the Asiatic Registration Act came to be called.

I was taken to Pretoria to
meet General Smuts and after discussion with him of an
amendment I had suggested, the draft settlement was
accepted. The prisoners were released and I went about
explaining the terms of the settlement to my countrymen.